


The Valiant Company - Part 2

by Evagorn



Series: The Valiant Company [2]
Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 10:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21336454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evagorn/pseuds/Evagorn
Summary: After narrowly escaping the Human invaders, our Heroes prepare to defend Pawstantinople from the inevitable counterattackIn War, even the noblest causes are not won without consequence...
Series: The Valiant Company [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1526087
Kudos: 1





	The Valiant Company - Part 2

We rejoin our heroes in council, preparing for war. After the disastrous first encounter with the Humans, the Valiant Company gathered to discuss their plans to defend Pawstantinople from what they were certain would be an inevitable counterattack. Lacking military expertise himself, Alphonso deferred to his new allies for guidance. Each member of the team supplied useful insight: Chi gave orders for troop placements, Levi coordinated triage and support for the wounded, Elouan detailed the dangers of the Human weapons as well as placements of counter weapons, and Thorn suggested the use of scouts to gain more information about the land and potential allies. In addition, our heroes were introduced to another member of the Valiant Company: Beat Medicine Crow, a Gaag Mogwai. As a long time member of the Company, Beat expressed his deep investment in the cause, and readiness to join the heroes in their fight.

One of the key items of business was neutralizing the enemy mortar weapon. After discussing a few options, a plan was settled upon thanks to a suggestion from Chi. Grok, an Earth Mog, would tunnel through the ground and attack the turret from beneath. Meanwhile, the rest of the team would defend the town from the advancing enemy. As a side note, Elouan pointed out that they would likely want to protect the town’s valuables, and so Helga was sent to begin relocating everything into the caves. With the plan settled, the group began to separate, but not before our heroes were approached by Riss. She expressed concern for her friend, Grok, having to go destroy the mortar alone, and asked if the heroes could have someone else help him. After some consultation, they suggest Riss herself go, which she readily accepted.

The team began to relocate to their various places. However, as Dr. Levi took her place near the middle of town - so as to more easily reach anyone wounded, she was approached by Vivian. Vivian aske if Dr. Levi had seen her maid Helga anywhere? Levi had not, and so was asked if she could aid in searching for her. Vivian went to the west side of town, while Levi went the opposite way towards the headquarters. Beat was stationed just outside headquarters at one of the choke points, and offered to help Levi search. The two of them entered the building... and came upon a most alarming sight.

Helga was indeed inside, but she was being held prisoner by a mysterious Human woman. The woman saw the two Mogwai entered, and smiled. She had two assistants with her, both of whom wielded knives and appeared to be of exceptional skill. Though Levi and Beat wanted to leap into action right away, the intruder held a gun directly to Helga’s head, making it clear that neither of them should do anything rash. It was while staring down this mysterious attacker that Levi noticed something. It was a familiar sensation, an aroma she knew wel... but which filled her with dread. That Human woman was a Conjurer. For a tense moment, things were at a standstill.

Meanwhile outside, Vivian continued to search for Helga, and alerted Thorn about the problem as well. He, in turn, headed to the opposite side of town to where Chi was to alert her and Elouan. Naturally, neither of them saw any issues going on, and feared to leave their post lest the humans come upon them unawares. All the while, the battle had already begun...

Back at headquarters, Beat and Levi did indeed strike to rescue Helga. Beat hefted his mighty Greatsword, threatening the woman with nature’s wrath if she didn’t let Helga go. This unnerved the woman, as Beat’s presence filled the room. In that brief moment of distraction, Levi fire with her gun and managed to disarm the mysterious assailant with an expertly placed shot. Disarmed and intimidated, the woman made her retreat through some form of teleportation, taking Helga with her. Levi and Beat attempted to stop the two rogues from fleeing, but they proved too nimble as they dodged their way out of the headquarters building and disappeared into the forest.

Outside, the whole town was thrown into an uproar as they saw the Human intruders flee. Elouan attempted to shoot them down to no avail, and the team was powerless to stop their escape. Naturally, Levi ran to find Vivian as quickly as possible to tell her the terrible news. The team was quickly gathered together to her it, as well. Vivian took the news exceptionally badly, and insisted that they go to rescue Helga immediately. Chi rightly pointed out that the rest of the Human forces would likely be upon them soon, and to abandon their posts could lead to disaster. But Vivian countered even more forcefully: “Without Helga, this whole town is doomed! Even if we win this battle, we are lost!”

It was then explained the true significance of Helga and her brother, Yurius: As Beholders, they have power over time and space to a limited extent. They employ those powers in order to keep Pawstantinople safe, creating barriers and distortions that make it harder to find from the outside. Naturally, without Helga, these barriers would be weakened significantly, making the town susceptible to the danger of an even more concerted attack. Vivian’s position on the matter was clear: If no one else would, she and Yurius would go to rescue Helga themselves.

Dr. Levi made an impassioned defense, insisting that she and the other heroes be the ones to go rescue Helga instead. Chi raised pointed objections, feeling her place was here in the town. But, faced with two difficult choices, neither of which seeming good, she opted to defer to Levi and agree to help the Beholder. The rest of the team agreed, and they gathered together to set out. Yurius approached and supplied them with a vial of Helga’s tears. He explained that these could be used to take them to her side in an instant, but that they would only work once. With this tool in hand, they prepared to depart.

Before leaving, Thorn the Nue approached Human Thorn, naturally wanting to go with his friend. Thorn the Human instead gave little Thorn an important task: Stay behind and protect Alphonso. Little Thorn nodded solemnly, and promised to give his utmost.

With that, the heroes gathered together, weapons at the ready. The vial of tears as shattered, and as one they were whisked away to the forest’s edge, where Helga was being held prisoner. There was a large metal enclosure set up nearby, which the team quickly deduced as the holding place of Helga. The Conjurer was there as well, and jumped in alarm at the sight of these unexpected attackers. The heroes capitalized on their surprise attack, taking position to strike while Chi managed to seize hold of the Conjurer. The battle raged in earnest, with the heroes seemingly disabling the Conjurer almost immediately while one of her assassins ran off into the forest. Elouan and Levi worked their way to the rear, where they discovered that there was powerful, cold air coming out of the cage. But as they prepared to investigate, thinking perhaps the battle was secure, the Conjurer drew out her true power.

Without warning, she threw all of the Mogwai back with a mighty blast. Her whole body became infused with magic, and she stared them down with a gleeful smile. When she counterattacked, her strength was beyond what any of them had seen up to that point, as she dodged and struck with unnerving speed and power. Still near the cage, Levi shot the lock off the door and opened it to see what exactly was going on. And the answer filled her with horror. Inside the cage was an Ice Dragon Mogwai, a bound prisoner, who wailed in pain as light poured from her core. Knowing how the bonds between Humans and Mogwai function, Levi realized right away what was happening: the Conjurer was stealing the strength from the Dragon to empower herself!

The Conjurer was naturally displeased with how Levi and Elouan attempted to rescue the prisoners, and attacked them with powerful ice magic. They endured the blow, but were unable to provide much by way of counterattack. This came primarily from Beat and Chi. They continued to flank the woman, doing their best to score what hits they could. Beat in particular fended off the attacks of the assassins from behind, while still trying to keep the Conjurer cornered. Amidst this chaos, the first assassin returned, bringing the dire news that the mortar weapon had been disabled. The heroes rejoined in knowing that Grok and Riss had succeeded in their mission, but could not rejoice for long, as the battle raged.

Savage blows were falling on both sides, and the heroes might have faltered had it not been for the timely intervention of Thorn, who unleashed an almost continuous stream of powerful healing magic to keep his allies’ strength up. Finally, between a furious barrage by Chi, a well-placed shot by Elouan, and a vicious cut from Beat, the foes were finally defeated. One assassin lay dead, while the other and the Conjurer both lay unconscious. The heroes were finally able to free Helga and the Ice Dragon, taking them out of the dark confines of the cage. The Ice Dragon was extremely weak, and unable to move of her own power. Helga, on the other hand, seemed woozy but otherwise unharmed. She thanked the heroes for their timely arrival, and agreed to take them all back to Pawstantinople using her power. The team prepared for the worst, as they suspected the battle to be raging.

They teleported inside the headquarters building, taking the Conjurer with them, but not before Chi left a threatening note behind with the unconscious assassin as a means of warning the Humans not to try anything like this again, lest they face an even worse fate. Helga agreed to stay behind to watch over the prisoner, while the team charged into the city to lend their aid. But when they entered... they found that the fight was already over. The town was in flames, with signs of carnage everywhere, but otherwise there was no sign of the enemy. A Human guard startled when he saw them, and told them they were wanted near the middle of town. Levi leapt into the water right away to take a shortcut, while the others ran as fast as they could the long way.

In the middle of town, Levi came upon the terrible scene. On one side, Grok cradled his friend Riss in his arms. She no longer moved, and though she smiled in stillness, Dr. Levi could tell that she had sustained fatal damage to her core. Grok muttered doleful words to himself, asking himself why he had allowed her to come. On the other side, Alphonso and Vivian crowded around little Thorn the Nue, who had likewise received a fatal wound while defending Alphonso. Thorn the Human approached, and little Thorn proudly told him that he had done his best. In this moment of crisis, Dr. Levi realized that Human Thorn was a Conjurer, and they a Pact might be enough to save little Thorn. Neither of them had done this before, nor knew how it worked, but with the help of Dr. Levi’s guidance, they succeeded! A Pact was formed between the two Thorns, and Thorn the Nue was restored to health!

But not all was to be resolved so well. From the other side, the sound of glass shattering could be heard. All eyes turned in time to see Riss Sabnack, faithful guardian of the Valiant Company, fall into pieces. Grok cradled some of the broken shards in his trembling hands, then disappeared into the stone walls of the city. Beat, who had known Riss well, performed a sacred ritual dance to mourn her, and a single flower bloomed on the spot where she had fallen. A somber mood descended on the group as all took in the loss... They had won the battle, but at a terrible cost.

Soon, the team had reconvened inside the headquarters building. Alphonso, Vivian, Helga, and Yurius were all present, along with the Human Conjurer they had captured, as well as the Ice Dragon, Crystal. The heroes related their rescue, while Alphonso explained the outcome of the battle. The heroes’ strategy and placement had worked, giving the Valiant Company they edge they’d needed to overcome the enemy. Losses were steep, but considering the severity of the battle, things could have gone much, much worse. The heroes were thanked for their timely aid and advice.

Then, attention was turned to the Conjurer. She was interrogated, and it was revealed that she had deceived the poor Dragon to be her Mogwai some time ago. She had used the example of Queen Han’s Conjurer on how to use Mogwai as sources of power, and had abused poor Crystal since then for her own benefit. Appeals were made to her in an attempt to make her confess her wrongdoing, but the Conjurer was unmoved. Finally, the question was put to her poor victim: “Should she be spared?” And Crystal’s response was immediate: “No.” A shot rang out, and Dr. Levi placed a bullet in the vile woman’s head. Without a word, Yurius and Helga cleaned up the mess, while Alphonso and Vivian watched on stoically.

Next, Crystal herself was queried. She explained that she had left her home do be with that Conjurer, and that her family had disowned her after she made a Pact. This news struck Levi to her core, and she fled the scene. Chi followed after her, while the rest remained behind. Vivian instructed Helga to take Crystal to somewhere she could rest, and the Beholder departed to do just that. Alphonso turned to Thorn, Beat, and Elouan, and made his appeal. He recognized the severity of the blow they had received, but he was not ready to surrender the cause of the Valiant Company. He was going to keep fighting. But he did not want to force the heroes to do the same. If they wished to leave, they were welcome to. But they chose to stay. They believed in the cause, and would not abandon it.

Outside, Levi ran to the water’s edge, her soul churning with emotion. Chi attempted to comfort her, saying that she had done so much to help. But Levi simply retorted that the person she most wished to help was already dead, and fled out of sight. Chi did not pursue her, thinking it best to leave the poor Doctor to work through her emotions on her own. She returned to the headquarters, and Alphonso put to her the same question he’d given to the others. Chi likewise voiced her desire to stay on with the Company, and so the heroes were taken to the caves to their new accommodations. Here they would have place to call their own while they stayed with the Company, and here they would be able to plan for their future.

And, Elouan reminded them all, that one of the first things on their agenda should be prioritizing those that had partially caused this disaster in the first place: The Fairies. Their trickery had led to the Humans being able to discover Pawstantinople in the first place, as otherwise the town should have been hidden. Why the Fairies did this was still unknown, and it was time the Valiant Company got answers...

Later that night, while all others rested, Levi spread flowers across one of the ponds of Pawstantinople. It was a silent vigil for her fallen Conjurer, the one she had truly wished to protect. As she worked, Helga quietly appeared. She thanked the Doctor for her timely rescue, as well as her vehement defense. She made it clear that if Levi ever needed anything, she would be there to help. And left her to her observance. A new bond had been forged, then. And the Valiant Company grows ever stronger.

* * *

Victor looked over his munitions for the dozenth time. Would this be enough? He knew what he sought would be well guarded, but he had tried to prepare thoroughly. Command was expecting results. He could not fail them. To do so would be to fail Humanity itself. And he was not about to let that happen.

“You’re kinda cute when you get all serious like that,” came the sultry voice that grated on Victor more than anything.

Stiff-backed, he turned to face the Conjurer. “I would appreciate if you no longer antagonized me, Miss Octave.”

The Conjurer’s lip curled. “Antagonized? What ever do you mean, love?”

“I know that I am... not your type, shall we say. And I do not appreciate such cavalier language from a subordinate.”

Shel’s smirk twisted into something more devious. “Oh, I’m no subordinate of yours, Victor. You’d best not forget that. I’m here because it suits me, and for no other reason. So don’t think for a second that you can order me around.”

And this was why she grated on him so. He scowled deeply at her. “Have you located the Mogwai settlement, as I asked you to do?”

“I think so,” Shel replied, placing a hand on her hip with a more businesslike expression. “It wasn’t easy, though. They’ve got some kind of magic around it, makes it seem like nothings there. If I hadn’t known I was looking for something, I’d honestly have missed it entirely.”

“Will you be able to penetrate these barriers?”

“Oh baby, don’t you worry about that,” Shel winked, “I’m a professional.”

“See to it, then,” Victor replied testily. “The ones who attacked us are likely informing their comrades of our presence even now, and we must attack swiftly or loss any advantage we have.”

“Alright, alright,” Shel waved her hand and started to walk off. Her two attendants - women of deadly skill, Victor had come to learn firsthand - trailed behind their leader like two devoted dogs. But before leaving, Shel paused to look back. “I trust you’re talking good care of my things?”

Victor frowned. “If you mean that poor creature you keep in that cage, then yes, she is secure.”

“What’s this!” Shel said, placing a hand on her cheek in exaggerated concern. “Are you telling me you feel sorry for that Mogwai? I thought you wanted to win this war, Victor.”

“Winning the war does not involve such unnecessary cruelty,” Victor stated firmly. “Though I fully intend to win, if the Mogwai were to surrender, I would gladly cease my attacks against them. But what you have done,” he shuddered as he thought of that somber thing, chained in darkness, “is beyond the pale. I would not treat an animal so cruelly, and Mogwai we know are at least somewhat like Humans.”

Shel shook her head, all pretense falling from her countenance. “Spare me your pompous bullshit, Victor. Your grandstanding might impress your bootlickers, but it doesn’t fool me.” And with that she spun about and left.

Victor watched her depart in silence.

After a minute or so, one of Victor’s aids cautiously approached. “Um, sir?”

“What is it?”

“We have that, um, scout report you wanted?”

Victor’s eyes lit up, and he snatched the paper the aid was holding out for him. He scanned the document quickly, noting the details. “Yes, the forest growth is thickest there... there can be no mistake. It has to be there.”

“Uh... sir?”

“What is it?” Victor said, exasperated. This woman was grating on him almost as badly as the Conjurer.

“I just... I wanted to know what exactly we’re doing out here? These woods are nowhere near the frontlines, and we’re pretty understaffed. I’m not the only officer who wants to know what we’re supposed to be out here for.”

Victor snorted in displeasure. “It is not the place of a mere aid to question their superior officer.”

“I don’t mean to question!” The aid said hastily. “I just... I thought we deserved to know what we’re out here risking our lives for.”

“Hmmm,” Victor nodded slowly. “Yes, that is a fair point. I had not considered it that way. Forgive my curtness. I suppose at least a brief explanation is in order.” He stroked his chin a moment while he contemplated how much he could say. Obviously, the full import could not be given, but a few hints could not harm, either.

“We are looking for something,” he began, “a particular... artifact, let’s call it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the aid queried.

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure myself. But I was given an image for reference.” Victor pulled a photograph out of his coat and showed it to the aid. It was a strange bauble, surrounded by twisting roots, with a deep green center.

The aid examined the photo, then handed it back. “Why are we looking for it? What does it do?”

“Again, I cannot say for certain,” Victor replied. “But command wants it, and I intend to get it for them.”

The aid nodded. “Alright, sir, if you say so.” She gave a salute, then walked off.

Victor looked at the photo once more, deeply troubled. He still had no idea how this image had been obtained in the first place. If the photographer had been close enough to take this picture, how had they failed to take the object with them? He could only assume it was guarded, but how well was yet to be seen.

He turned his gaze out into the forest, and steeled himself. One task at a time. First, the Mogwai and Human traitors had to be defeated. Then, the artifact...


End file.
